Some apps allow to communicate via Wifi on a home-network, but I'm sometimes getting MIDI overflow errors in Reason. I'm guessing there will be lower latency delays if I use a direct connection via USB (iPad connection to USB-port on a laptop) like so:

[ iPad with some MIDI app on it ]-----------[ USB-Port on Laptop ]

Does it require any extra adapters / iPad accessories to have some other kind of USB connectivity to the Laptop? Is there any OSX applications that can "translate" the USB signal to MIDI data coming from the iPad?

4 Answers
4

You need the Apple Camera Connection Kit which includes a connector with a USB outlet. Just use this and a USB cable to connect to your Mac. If the app supports CoreMIDI it should work just fine.
You can check using "Audio MIDI Setup.app" on your Mac. This is also the place where you configure your Mac to use Wireless MIDI sent from an iPad. (no cables required; also CoreMIDI)

The best I could find is Playback Control MIDI App. It changes the iPad into a 10 button pad which can simply be linked to the Mac using the standard lightning cable. (Use the Audio MIDI Setup app to designate your pad as a MIDI device)

You need to determine the manner in which the midi is sent by your app, but basically, you want something that can bridge devices. This can be some form of hardware, or it can be software (sometimes called a midi bridge or "software dongle").

As an example, I use a usb joystick as a midi controller by using an application that converts joystick inputs to midi outputs and then I bridge that with another small driver that lets me route the midi to whatever hardware or software device I like.

Without more information about the nature of your application it is hard to say if it can use a USB connection.